Halo: The Escape
by Avengerr
Summary: A lone Spec Ops Sangheili is separated from his squad. Learning the truth of the Covenant, he utilizes unlikely allies, and embarks on a mission to escape Halo, and its horrors.
1. Prologue

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

**I do not own, work for, or am affiliated with Bungie or Microsoft Game studios.**

**This is published without consent from Bungie or MGS.**

**Based on information from Halo CE, Halo 2, Halo 3, and all Halo novels.**

**Special thanks to Eric Nylund, William C. Dietz, Tobias S. Buckell, Joseph Staten, and Bungie in general for giving us a great series, and numerous chances for me to fill in the gaps.**

**Dedicated to all of the Halo story's hardcore fans.  
**

* * *

PROLOGUE

The Warthog's massive tires thudded over rocks, holes, and fallen branches as it sped through the small open field.

"Listen squid-face, this plan of yours had better work, or we're _all_ fried!" Said Private Rick Irwin, the driver. The black armoured Elite in the passenger's seat turned to him and replied:

"I have confidence in my plan. We all need to get off of the construct _somehow_, and this plan is of the utmost importance."

"Yeah, whatever…" mumbled Irwin.

"Here they are, coming for another pass!" Called out Private First Class Sheldon Beaudette. "Firing now!" The chain gun began to spin, and in seconds it was spitting .50 cal rounds at 500 per minute at the incoming Banshees.

"Remember, aim to damage, _not_ to destroy. We need those ships!" warned the Elite.

The Banshees screamed in towards the Human vehicle, and plasma bolts struck the ground behind it. Fire from the chain gun struck the Banshee on the left, and it shuddered. It remained in the air, however. The 'Hog sped forward, weaving side to side and spewing dirt behind it as it gained traction.

"Now!" Roared the Elite. The Warthog's driver stomped on the footbrake and ripped up the handbrake, the vehicle sliding to a stop on the loose terrain. Then, from the treetops two white pillars of smoke flew outwards towards the alien craft, both hitting the target—one anti-grav pod on each Banshee. In their struggle to turn around to reengage the Humans, they slowed to nearly two thirds of their speed. The sniper's aim was amazingly perfect, and lucky. As planned, they began to fall, spiralling towards the ground. One landed hard not twenty feet from the Warthog, and the other falling into the trees.

"Well what do ya know? It actually worked." Laughed Beaudette.

"Naturally" mused the Elite. Now, with these Banshees in our arsenal, we can continue plans for our insertion. He got out of the 'Hog and walked to the nearby Banshee. He pried the fuselage up and open, and fired his pistol at the pilot, killing him as he tried to counter in his disoriented state. This was a task normally considered treason in the Covenant, but since this Elite was no longer a part of the Covenant, he had no worries at all.

"Ready your crew. We need these up and flying by this evening, so we may begin _real_ task." The humans did not salute, gesture or even say anything at all. They nodded and started the drive back to base camp. The Elite was not of their race. Technically, he was the _enemy_. The Elite, named Ruka 'Tamamee, strode to the forest. He had one more pilot to dispose of.


	2. Chapter 1: Discovery

_Chapter 1: The Discovery_

"Emerging to normal space on target, Ship Master" said Fasu 'Olomee, in charge of navigation on the _Vigilant Pride_.

"Excellent. Alert the drop troops to prepare for deployment." Ship Master Nada 'Toramee ordered. 'Toramee was a new Ship Master. He had fought long and hard to gain this new position, and he was sure the only reason he claimed it now was because his rival was killed in a recent battle with the Humans.

He was sent to retrieve a Forerunner artifact from this Human installation, what was apparently called 'Reech'. How the Humans manage to acquire such marvels was beyond him, but he was not about to let the Covenant down. His Sangheili pride depended on it.

Meanwhile, several decks down below in the launch bay, hundreds of troops were preparing for deployment to the Human station. One group in particular was of great importance. A team of five Sangheili Special Operations soldiers were gearing up. Their mission was to oversee the whole operation, retrieve the artifact, take out any resistance, and generally ensure success.

A loud klaxon alarm blared, the launch bay doors opened, and the troops filed out into space. The black-clad Spec Ops team was last in line, to oversee the main assault landing.

"There are Humans on the installation" growled Odra 'Padumee, one of the five. He zoomed in his monocular-" Three to be exact."

"Pitiful. Send three worthless vermin to guard a Forerunner artifact? That is truly ridiculous" said Noka 'Tamamee, the team's leader. "At least we may accomplish this mission with ease."

As he spoke, the _Vigilant Pride_ exploded. The two support frigates turned and fired upon the source: The Human orbital gun emplacements, and they too erupted into a explosion of fire and plasma. One of the guns went down with them as well.

Ruka 'Tamamee-Noka's blood brother-spoke up: "It appears that Ship Master 'Toramee will not be seeing any more battles. How unfortunate."

"Indeed, brother. We will find another means of transport once the artifact is secure." Noka maneuvered his thruster pack, moving farther away from the team. "Five units to landing. Spread out, so we do not all land in the same spot."

The Sangheili did as they were told, without question. This particular unit was together since around the same time the Humans were discovered. They functioned extremely well, and were never defeated. On top of that, they have never had any casualties.

Ruka 'Tamamee powered to the far right of their formation, and as he was maneuvering forward he noticed a shimmer in the corner of his eye. His training kicked in, and he snapped his monocular up to his eye to examine the object.

As the image focused, he saw that it was clearly a Human, floating dead in space. He smiled-or at least, the Sangheili equivalent of a smile-as he saw a piece of debris hit the human. He was about to lower the monocular and continue not caring, but what he saw next immediately stunned him. The Human glowed yellow, and flashed before the yellow/gold light dissipated. He knew _exactly_ what this was.

"Leader; Halt, and turn thirty-two degrees to the right. Use the monocular-I have seen a Human!"

"One Human in space is nothing to worry about, brother, and I wonder why you even _bother_ me with such useless information on an important mission! Please, remain communications silent until we reach our destination." Noka replied angrily.

"No, brother-this Human has energy shields. I saw them with my own eyes. We must inspect this immediately!" Ruka countered, determined to turn his brother's thinking.

"Although I admire your stubbornness, brother, but that is impossible. If the vermin had even created their own shield technology, If the vermin had even created their own shield technology, _why_ have we not seen it on _any_ of their troops? It is extremely unlikely that if they-"

"Would I lie to you, Noka?" Ruka interjected forcefully. "All our lives, before joining the Covenant, we grew up in the same keep, and never left each other's sides! You _know_ me, brother! I have _never_ lied to you, our own father, or even the elders of the keep. No one!"

Noka 'Tamamee thought for a moment. It was a true fact; in the many years he and his brother lived and trained together, even before joining the ranks of the Covenant, Ruka had never told a single lie. Still, the odds of a Human with this kind of advanced technology were slim to none.

Just then, there was a large flash of light as one launch bay doors on the Human installation blew outward, and a small human craft flew out at a high speed.

"Landing team to group leader; we have taken the station. However, our mission is a failure. The Humans once again destroyed the artifact." Reported an anonymous Sangheili.

Noka growled angrily, "the Prophets will not be pleased. A failure such as this is an embarrassment to us, and our families." This was not the first time Humans destroyed Forerunner artifacts. In fact, they seem to do it on a daily basis. Still, the team needed to find _something_ to please the Prophets, and soon.

"Fine, Ruka. We are investigating your sighting. What are the coordinates?"

* * *

As he floated through space, James cursed his luck. John had always been the lucky one. He should have dropped the charges he was gathering from the Pelican and fallen back, like he was _ordered_ to do.

"This is the worst possible way to die," he thought. It was far better to die fighting than because of a mechanical error, or rather, a _personal_ error resulting in one.

Suddenly, a red dot appeared on his motion tracker, quickly followed by four more. These were not just random pieces of space debris. Whatever they were, they were coming for him. He zoomed in on his visor, and the image shot forward. Five black-clad, EVA suit wearing strange looking aliens were coming right for him. These must be the Elite warriors he had heard of.

"Great," he thought out loud. He was unarmed, and had no real means of movement. Although he had never seen the Elite warriors fight, he was fairly certain that taking on five of them at once would be too much of a challenge, even for a SPARTAN. Still, he had to try. He had no choice in the matter.

The Elites advanced, and one fired a three-bolt burst from its plasma rifle. His shields took the hit, and James turned away to make himself a smaller target. They advanced faster as they fired their thruster packs. James tensed for the inevitable physical fight.

As one of the closest enemies leveled its rifle, James turned his body towards it, and punched his arms forward. The motion sent him slowly towards the incoming attackers. He then curled up into a ball and spun forward.

The Elites tried to grab him, but couldn't hold on. His shields combined with theirs made him too slippery. Not planned, but now he knew that they had shields too. He lunged forward, reaching for one of the plasma rifles pointed at him. The action took the owner by surprise, and it loosened its grip. James grabbed the gun, pointed it to fire on the startled Elite, but even before he could pull the trigger another Elite leapt forward, smashing his wrist with its own weapon. The Elite's crushing force reflexively opened his hand, and the recently disarmed Elite jetted forward and snatched it back. In the same motion, it kicked hard at the SPARTAN's chest, spiralling James backward-into another Elite.

The Elite grabbed him by the arms, in a hold. James kicked back as hard as he could, but the Elite smartly had tucked its legs up behind itself, safe from the attack.

The Elite who knocked the weapon from James fired several bolts into James' chest, depleting his shield entirely, while two other Elites grabbed each of his legs. With all the Elites literally touching his armor, the shield could not recharge. Eventually the five attackers had him entirely immobile, holding him like they were carrying a cheap carpet.

* * *

"Hold on tight to this one!" Ordered Noka. "Do not loosen your grip until we are recovered. The Prophets will be pleased with this discovery!" He nodded to Ruka, with pride. He then changed his communicator to a fleet wide channel.

"This is Special Operations Team 'Sword of Vigilance' requesting immediate recovery to the coordinates I am sending. Please respond."

"This is Shipmaster Onu 'Zadumee of the destroyer _Fist of Judgement_. Hold position, we shall be there shortly."

In less than one unit a massive ship burst from slipspace directly in front of the group. They powered toward its launch bay's airlocks, with the Human cargo safely secured under their arms. It was squirming, but the team's hold was much too strong. As they neared the ship, they could see that it was heavily damaged. The aft section was buckled, and flaming. There were also numerous small holes and indents along the length of the ship.

* * *

No sooner had they passed through the airlocks when the ship took another direct hit. Explosions echoed from deep inside it. The blast lurched the ship sideways, and the Elites weakened their grip on the Human. James saw his chance and took it, springing up and knocking one of the Elites to the ground. Before he could even take another step forward, another Elite tackled him by the knees. As James struggled to escape the hold, yet another Elite clubbed him over the head with its rifle. The force was so hard, even his helmet did nothing to prevent him from slipping into unconsciousness. He heard the Elite laugh, muffled by its EVA suit, and his vision faded to black.

He groaned as he regained consciousness, and checked his surroundings. He was in a tiny purple-walled box with what appeared to be a green energy barrier in front of him. On the other side of the barrier, one of the Covenant Elites was staring back at him. Its EVA suit was still on, minus the helmet. This was the first time he ever got a good look at the aliens. They had elongated heads, with two sets of mandibles with sharp teeth for a mouth.

The Elite glared at him-intrigued? Angry? James couldn't tell. As it turned to walk away James got up and punched the energy barrier, making it shimmer and emit a 'pssh'ing sound.

The Elite stopped and turned towards him. All it did was chuckle under it breath, and it strode out of the room.

The ship rumbled and shook. Apparently, it was moving. James didn't know what was going to happen to him, but he sat in the corner of his prison cell, and closed his eyes. He was certain the Elites were going to return, and when they did, he would need to be ready.


	3. Chapter 2: Limping Away

Chapter 2: Limping Away

Shipmaster 'Zadumee stood at the command console of the _Fist of Judgement_, staring at the now darkened viewscreen.

"Communications?" He asked.

"Functioning, but barely," replied the Comm officer. "External communications are gone- all external viewing cameras are destroyed. The Human fleet did quite a number on our ship, Honor."

"Curse the Human filth!" growled "Zadumee. He began to pace angrily. "We can still move… We will not take part in the destruction of their planet, for that will use too much of our limited power." He marched over to the engineering station. "Our slipspace engines are still online." He pressed a button on the console, activating the ship's internal communications. "All Huragok, focus on repairing external communications. We need them immediately." He deactivated the comms and sighed. He took another look around the early empty and somewhat damaged command console, and sighed again.

"Move up to join with the nearest exit group. We can join with them for support until we can make the repairs. I am going to greet the Spec Ops team we picked up, perhaps they can be of some use." He nodded at the Sangheili in charge of navigation, and left the console.

***

Noka 'Tamamee slammed his fist on the table and roared at the Huragok examining the Human.

"_Why_ is it so difficult to remove this Human's armour?"

The Human captive lay on the metal table, secured by energy shackles. The Huragok was attempting to remove the Human's helmet. Naturally, the soldier was resisting.

"Give me one minute with this vermin, I will do it myself!"

The Huragok squealed angrily, and its tentacles worked furiously over the Human's helmet. Suddenly, with a loud hiss and a pop, the helmet came off.

Noka jumped to his feet, and growled.

"Ha ha! A face to the mask!" He stepped over to the Human and glared into his eyes. Smiling, Noka promptly backhanded him across the face.

The Human yelled out in pain, blood dripping from his nose and mouth. He spoke quietly in his own language:

"This is not the first time I have been captured. If you bastards want information from me, you will never get it!"

As he spoke, the door to the small dark room slid open, and Shipmaster 'Zadumee strode in.

"I was told I would find you in here. I also understand that you have taken a Human prisoner, which is ridiculous. We do _not_ need prisoners of a race that we can eradicate!"

It was just then that 'Zadumee got a good look at the captive, in his shining greenish body armour.

"By the Prophets!"

"Yes," growled Noka. "One of my soldiers found him on our mission to the Human installation. The mission was not a complete failure. We have just begun to remove his armour. Not only does this Human appear to be physically advantageous over the rest of them, but his armour is also more advanced. It has _shields_, similar to our own.

"I see. However, this will remain our little secret. Our external communications were destroyed in the battle with the Human fleet. We have no way to speak to anyone outside this ship."

"So where does that leave us, then?"

The Shipmaster lowered his head and paced-something he did when he was tense.

"We can still move, and we are linking up with a group of ships on an exit vector from this system. We will tandem jump with them, however, I have no idea where we are headed… The coordinates are unknown to me."

"Well, with your permission, we are going to pry information from _him_," Noka said, gesturing to the Human still lying on the table. His armour was nearly all off now, all that remained were the parts from the waist down.

"Also, we can examine his shield technology, and adapt it to our own principles, if necessary."

"Careful, Commander. What you speak of is blasphemy. Our technology is, and always will be far superior to the Humans. It is a gift from the Forerunners, after all. A gift from the _gods_!"

"Accept my apologies, Excellency. I shall not think in that way again, or it will be my head on a stake."

"Indeed. Get what you can from this Human, but do not examine the armour. I'll decide what to do with it when I get back. I'm going to check on our repairs."

"You have my word, Shipmaster."

"And think about what you just said Commander. I do not wish to lose an experienced soldier such as yourself."

Noka bowed, and the Shipmaster left.

***

James lay on the cold, purple metal table. The Engineer was hovering over him, and it had removed all of his armour and stacked it neatly in the corner. Frankly, he wasn't surprised at what the alien had accomplished. After seeing them on Sigma Octanus disassembling and reassembling vehicles, he was actually impressed at their capabilities. If the UNSC had these creatures, who knows where they would be technologically.

He stole another look at the Elite in the room. From what he had just witnessed, the one in the gold armour that just left must have been of some importance, perhaps captain of the ship?

The one in the black armour was lesser in rank, but still higher in the chain of command, to warrant such casual conversation.

James looked down at himself, naked now. He was pale, even in the dim light. The amount of time in his armour was already taking a toll on his pigmentation. He wondered if John and the rest of the Spartans had accomplished their respective missions. He knew they must have, Spartans never fail.

"No, that's false," he thought. _He_ had failed. He left his own teammates because if his own stubbornness, and _failure_ to comply with orders. His anger began to rise. Not only had he failed his team, but also himself, for getting captured by these Covenant assholes.

A sound startled him, rousing him from his thoughts. The single door to the room opened, and second black-clad Elite walked in.

"Great…" he thought, and weighed his options. Two armed Elites versus him. They were armed with plasma rifles, attached to their thighs. On the other leg, they had some sort of glowing bar that he had never seen before. It must be some new weapon. ONI would have a heyday.

These Elites must have been part of the team that captured him in the first place, therefore extremely well trained. He wondered if he could take them, even without his MJOLNIR armour.

Suddenly, realization hit him in the face, literally. The slightly taller of the two, the one originally in the room struck him again, sending blood spraying across the room. The Engineer whistled angrily, as blood spattered on its skin. His nose was surely broken now.

He glared angrily at the Elite, and bared his teeth, in anger and in pain. The Elite appeared to smile, which was something, because Elites had two sets of mandibles rather than a mouth with lips.

Due to their extensive training, and the black armour, James figured these two must be part of some sort of crack Special Ops team, meaning that his chances of an even fight were minimal.

He decided he would bide his time for now, and see what happens. There would be another chance for escape. He was sure of it.


	4. Chapter 3: Heresy

Chapter 3: Heresy

Noka 'Tamamee paced across the floor of the prisoner's room, shaking his head and trying to clear his thoughts.

"And we are forbidden to even _examine_ this special Human armour?" asked Ruka 'Tamamee.

"No, by orders from the Shipmaster. He is right in his beliefs, but also wrong."

"How so then?"

"It _is _considered heresy to examine and use technology without permission or guidance from the Prophets, especially Human technology-which is deemed inferior. However, we could learn much of the Human's science behind _this_ monstrosity." Noka gestured to the Human and his armour piled in the corner. "We could learn valuable secrets that could make their extermination much more swift."

Ruka pondered this for a moment. Noka's reasoning was following the right path, but dangerously close to the edge.

"Brother," he said, in a low whisper, "I must ask you a question. Just listen to my words." He stepped towards the exit and tapped a button on the holopad, locking it. "I need to ask "I need to ask _why?"_

"Why… Why what?" Noka asked.

Ruka hung his head for a moment, but then stood straight and stared into his brother's eyes. "Why _are_ we here? Why must we obliterate an entire race, without even giving them a chance to join our Covenant? The Prophets have never given a clear reason or explanation as to why we must do this deed."

Noka stared intensely at his blood brother, his words startling, and infuriating. His hand rested on the hilt of his energy sword.

"The words you speak are heresy and treachery. I should strike you down now, to bring no further shame to our family!"

"Then so be it, brother. I am not ready to fight for a cause that cannot be justified."

Noka glared at his brother, angry, but also proud that Ruka had shown honour in accepting his own death. The words he spoke were heretical, but not entirely false. He pulled his hand away from his blade, and crossed his arms and sighed heavily.

"I also share your concern, Ruka. Naturally, a Sangheili of _my_ stature and rank should immediately suffer for even thinking of this, but I trust you, as you are my own brother."

Ruka's head tilted, puzzled.

"I have also been questioning the Prophet's decision to eradicate the Humans. After all of our raids, seeing Human faces with fear in their eyes, cowering, and running from our might…But why? The prophets labelled the Humans as vermin, as an infestation that needs to be eradicated, but _why_? From what I have learned over time, the Humans came to us, and wished to broker peace, not fight. Did the Covenant start this war, and are now covering up the mistakes?"

Just as Ruka was about to reply, there was a loud knock on the door.

"Locking a door on _my_ ship will earn you an un-honourable fate. Open it now, or you will suffer. Do I make myself clear? I know there is someone in there."

Ruka quickly tapped the button on the holopad, and the door slid open, revealing Shipmaster 'Zadumee in his shining gold armour.

"Telling secrets are we? Talking behind my back? I will not tolerate this, Commander." He glanced at Ruka, furious.

"No, Honour, we just do not wish for any other troops to come across our find. This is a Sangheili find, and therefore, _our_ responsibility."

'Zadumee glanced at each of the Sangheili, then at the armourless Human, his head laying in a pool of his own blood. "I see. Have this Human's armour destroyed, we have no need of it. Keep the prisoner for interrogation."

Both of the Sangheili bowed their heads. The Shipmaster continued speaking.

"Reports from the Huragok claim that our external communications are highly unlikely or impossible to repair, because too many relays were destroyed. However, we have two more view screens online. At least we can _see_."

"That is good news, Shipmaster." Said Noka. "We shall obey your commands and dispose of the armour."

"Excellent. When we arrive at our destination, I will put in for immediate repair. Ready your team as well. We have no idea where we are headed, so it could be hostile."

"Yes, Excellency."

With that, 'Zadumee left the room once again.

"I do not agree with the Shipmaster," Noka said. "I will go down and ready the squad for possible action. Stay here until I return, and we will decide what to do with the Human then."

Ruka nodded. He was thankful that his brother shared his opinions. However, revealing this to anyone else, even to his own squad mates would surely be fatal. Even thought they had fought together for many years, they were still completely Covenant minded.

Noka left the small, dimly lit room and the door slid shut behind him.

The Huragok let out a shrill squeal and held up a small round object, with wires dangling from it, those leading to another boxier object. It squeaked again, and held out the object it had made to Ruka.

"What is this, Huragok?" He growled. As he finished his words, a sound came out of the device. It was clearly the sharp, distinct language of the Humans.

The prisoner jerked his head at the words, looking at Ruka, then at the device, surely knowing that the little Huragok had just created a translator.

The Huragok pushed the device towards the Human, and chirped.

"What do you want from me?" The Human asked, the device translating into the Sangheili's own language.

Ruka was speechless. What _did_ he want? The answer was obvious. Answers.

"Why do you fight us?" The Human asked.

"You must be eliminated. Where is your homeworld?"

"I have no home…" He replied.

"Then we have already destroyed it?"

"Maybe, maybe not."

"Speak the truth, vermin!" Roared Ruka. He was still unsure of what to think. Would this Human be worth risking his honour and his life over?

"No, _you_ speak the truth!" The Human's voice filled with rage. "All of this 'vermin' and 'infestation' crap, why? What did we ever do to you? I want to know –no– _humanity_ wants to know!"

The Human's icy stare penetrated Ruka's mind. He would just play it safe and tell the Human only what he knows.

***

"Our Prophets state that you are the destroyers of the Holy Relics, and you are perils to the Great Journey."

James kept his eyes glued to the Elite. He was trying to pry information from him, but it will not work. He would rather die than doom the Human race.

"What relics? What is this 'Great Journey'?"

The Elite stepped closer and growled. "You Humans keep Holy Relics aboard your ships, on installations, and on your planets, but you destroy them before we can claim them. In fact, you destroyed the relic _I_ was sent to retrieve. Instead, we found_ you_!"

The Elite towered over him, staring directly into James' eyes. Was he talking about the navigation database? It would make sense. The Cole Protocol states that all navigation systems must be purged and destroyed to prevent or at least delay the Covenant from finding any more Human colonies. He was not about to reveal that to the Elite, though.

"So why keep me? I know the Covenant takes no prisoners."

"You are different from the rest of the Humans." The Elite replied, and gestured at the disassembled MJOLNIR armour in the corner. "We want to examine your technology, which was clearly stolen from us!"

"Which _you_ stole from the Forerunners!" James snapped back.

"The Forerunners leave gifts scattered on planets throughout the galaxy. The Prophets study them, and meld them to our own use. We do not steal."

James considered laughing at that statement, but thought better of it. His face couldn't take much more abuse.

A voice penetrated the momentary silence; "Special Operations squad Sword of Vigilance to the Command area immediately."

The little alien device even translated Comm signals. That was impressive.

The Elite growled and walked to the door. He tapped a control, and it slid open and beeped. He turned and walked out, the door once again sliding shut behind him.

James lay on the table, and started to stare at the ceiling again, wondering what exactly was going to happen to him.

***

Ruka 'Tamamee looked at his squad mates on the command floor, and stared at the now operational view screens. The carcasses of several wrecked ships were slowly drifting on random vectors.

"The Huragok managed to create a single beam external Comm. I talked with the Shipmaster of the _Divine Penance_, and learned of where we were headed." The Shipmaster smiled, and swept his arm forward.

The view screens snapped to a new image, one of a purple/blue gas giant, with a small moon orbiting it. In between them, however, was an enormous, ring-like object. The Sacred Ring. Halo.

The Shipmaster spoke again, only this time on the internal Comm. "Attention all crew and soldiers. The Great Journey has begun."


	5. Chapter 4: The Truth

CHAPTER 4: The Truth...

The announcement of the discovery of the Sacred Ring caused chaos aboard the _Fist of Judgement._ Unggoy were cheering, and in doing so, creating a mess and significant damage as they went. The small Kig-Yar contingent on board was trying desperately to quell them, but was failing.

The Sangheili were ecstatic as well, but they knew how to stifle their abundant joy.

"There is a Human vessel on screen, Shipmaster. The _Divine Penance_ sends word that boarding parties have been launched to it," reported the communications officer.

"Damn these infernal beings! Do they seek to destroy _this_ relic as well?" bellowed 'Zadumee.

"The vessel is changing course – its firing on our position!"

"What?!" 'Zadumee looked at the viewscreen. Sure enough, the Human ship was turning towards them, on a perfect firing trajectory. "Evasive manoeuvres, set course to one-three-zero. Make us a smaller target."

"The ship's structure cannot take such a move, Shipmaster. It's too fragile!"

"No matter, there will be nothing left if we take a serious hit. Comply with your orders!" ''Zadumee was furious at the minor for not acting swiftly. He will be dealt with later.

The minor's lagging actions allowed enough time for the Human vessel to launch three heavy rounds from its cannon. The first two depleted the shield entirely, and the force sent the _Fist of Judgement_ in a sideways drift, towards the ring. The third struck directly in the starboard-aft section, pushing the crippled ship towards the ring at a higher rate of speed.

The whole ship plummeted into darkness as the engines died and the power went out.

'Zadumee roared in anger, and stormed off the command console towards the door.

"I am taking my Seraph, and I will take this Human ship out myself!" As he neared the exit, he whipped his energy blade to life, and swung at the minor who defied his orders. His head dropped to the deck, eyes closed. A Sangheili could always tell when their fate was decided. The Shipmaster turned to Ruka and Noka 'Tamamee.

"Kill the prisoner. Failure to do so will result in the both of you sharing _his_ fate!" With the power still flickering, he tore off down the corridor towards the launch bay.

***

This was the break that James had been waiting for.

His energy restraints were attached to the table, but they were also not self powered. Not one second after the power died, James sprang off the table. He went straight for his MJOLNIR armour.

The Covenant Engineer whistled and squealed angrily as he quickly donned his armour components. He had extremely limited time before the Elites returned again. He doubted they would let him live.

He was amazed at the speed he had assembled his armour. Now, all that remained was the helmet—which was in various pieces on the floor. Some of its components were used in the translator.

"Damn it!" He shouted angrily. He couldn't leave the ship without a vacuum seal. He stepped towards the Engineer and picked up the helmet. The Engineer chirped and tried to grab it from him.

"No, _I_ need this, can you fix it?" The Engineer didn't move.

James moved all the dangling parts as if he were putting them together, and motioned over his head. He then made a hissing noise with his mouth to signify a sealed suit.

The alien chirped again, this time with a seemingly happier tone and stretched out its tentacles, grabbing the helmet.

"Fix." James said.

Within _seconds_ the alien had replaced the fibre optics and placed all the tiny components back in their places. The Engineer proudly returned the helmet.

"Wow, thanks" James said thankfully. With a hiss and a pop, the helmet sealed over his head.

***

Back at the command console, Ruka 'Tamamee was standing with Noka, confirming their orders.

"We must comply with our orders—I prefer to keep my head on my shoulders." Noka argued.

"But what of the technology?" Ruka countered, then added quietly—" what of our earlier conversation?"

Before Noka could answer, the comm officer cut in. "Last minute message from the _Divine Penance_. The Human ship has taken serious damage and is making a break for the Sacred Ring. Vectors and speed indicate crash landing. You are the highest rank here, what shall we do?"

"Also," barged in the navigation officer—a replacement for the previous, now headless one—"We cannot move. Engines are non-functional. Self-destruct sequence cannot be initiated. Single beam is also offline. The shots we took have put us on a collision course directory with the ring as well."

"_What a perfect time to be left in charge," _Noka thought.

"So we have no power, no communications and no weapons?" he asked.

"Unfortunately that is correct, Commander."

"Then we must abandon the _Fist of Judgement_. If we can get a Spirit within close enough range to another cruiser, we can tell them to blow this ship to pieces. Everyone to the launch bay, now."

"Yes, Commander," the command staff replied in unison. Noka turned to Ruka as the officers filed out of the room.

"Our earlier conversation is redundant now. It seems the Prophets were correct in identifying the Humans as a threat. They are deliberately trying to damage, if not _destroy_ the Sacred Ring. They are perils to the Great Journey! It is real!"

"Yes, brother. I understand. Who shall do the honour of taking the Human's life?"

"Indeed, Ruka, indeed... I believe that we both deserve that rite." Noka withdrew his energy sword and twirled the hilt in his hand, "Lets go."

As they briskly walked down the dark corridor, Ruka pondered his decision. All the facts were pointing right at the truth. The Humans must be destroyed, or the Great Journey may never come. Still, something inside him disagreed.


	6. Chapter 5: Jailbreak

Chapter 5: Jailbreak

James waited patiently for the Engineer to re-wire the door's controls. He was astounded at the creature's speed and precision. He also made a mental note and added it to his Battlefield report: The Engineers, or at least, _this_ Engineer, do not appear to be on any particular side in this war.

James had just simply asked—or rather, motioned—for the alien to help him escape, and it happily obliged. It seemed that all it wanted to do was its job. With a beep, the door's lock panel glowed white, and the Engineer whistled happily.

"Thanks, little guy. I wish the UNSC had even _one_ of you." James said. The Engineer just whistled happily once more.

"_Time to get the hell outta here," _he thought.

He stepped towards the door, and it opened. There was nothing waiting to surprise him this time. He was curious as to why that was, for he had heard the call to "flee the doomed ship," so he expected some sort of mild chaos. Oh well.

He sprinted off down the hall, lights flickering and dimming as he made his way to what he thought would be the bow of the ship. He had watched the gold armoured Elite turn this way as he left the room earlier. James hoped it would lead to the bridge, where (hopefully), there would be escape pods.

As he ran, he heard the low, grumbling sound of an Elite talking. He looked for a place to hide and spied a darkened, sealed off corridor. He ran towards it and crouched in its shadows, not even daring to breathe as several Elites briskly walked by. Several black armoured ones were mixed in. They did not notice him.

Just before James peeked out to see if the way was clear, two more sped past—the other black armoured ones from before. As with the others, they paid no attention to him. However, James was not about to reveal his presence to them.

As they rounded a corner further down the hall, in the direction of his previous prison cell. He knew it would be seconds before they discovered his escape. He burst out of the darkened corridor and ran full speed towards what he hoped was the bow. As expected, a loud, angry yell came from further down the hall...

***

"Blast that Human," shouted Noka 'Tamamee with anger. "We must find him _now_, Ruka. This is no longer a question of his survival, but rather an answer to his death!"

"Agreed, brother." Ruka replied. He did not say anything in regards to his brother's last sentence, which did not make sense.

The two burly Sangheili tore off back down the hall they just came through, each knowing that the Human would make a break for the command crew escape pods.

They rounded a corner, and a door slid shut in front of them, and promptly shut off, due to the flickering power.

Noka let out an angry growl, and his energy blade flashed to life. He stabbed it into the deactivated door, and began to cut a hole through. Indeed, an angry Sangheili with killing on his mind is not one to trifle with.

***

James could hear the Elite trying to cut through the door behind him. He had taken a huge risk stopping to shut it. He was lucky that the power came on long enough for that to be accomplished. Now, he was running once again. Not only did he not know exactly where he was going, but how was he to know if there were even escape pods left, or even at all?

He spied an open door on his right as he ran. He looked into the room, and saw numerous darkened screens, and control panels. This must be it, the bridge! But, he was nowhere near the bow; at least, that's what he thought. Maybe the Covenant have their command bridges somewhere else. It was impossible to find out at this moment.

A loud clatter of metal sounded through the hall. The Elites must have cut through the door.

"_This better be the damn bridge!" _James thought. He was unarmed, and outnumbered. He realized he had next to no chance against the two Special Operations Elites.

He sprinted into the room. The darkened screens surrounded him, and the room was lined with seats and various control centers, also darkened. He ran around the perimeter of the room, and saw a small exit in the wall. Looking through, he saw six individual doorways, each with its own control panel. Escape pods.

He took a step towards them, but before his boot even touched the ground, an invisible force launched him off his feet, and he flew to the end of the escape pod launch corridor.

The two Elites materialized out of the darkness, deactivating their camouflage. One activated an energy sword and snarled angrily. The other drew its rifle and took aim.

James used his armour's power to push himself off the wall, and slid towards the Elite holding the rifle. He kicked out, and got the sword wielder in the lower leg. It temporarily lost balance, and flailed, the sword narrowly missing his outstretched arm.

James reached up and grabbed the Elites sword arm, and pulled to the ground. It let out a startled growl, and the other Elite fired its rifle. James' shields took the hit, but didn't go completely down. The sword Elite planted its dominant foot, resisting James's pulling.

The other Elite grabbed James's leg, and pulled him off the sword wielder. The Elite clubbed him across the face with his rifle. The hit bounced off the shield, and the drainage warning beeped loudly. James tightened his abdominal muscles, and sat upwards, grabbing at the Elites rifle. His hands found home, and he wrenched the rifle from the Elite's tight grasp, lifting it upwards in the process.

There was a sharp sizzle as the other Elite swung its sword, cutting the rifle in half. Its owner growled angrily, and let go of James. This was what he had hoped for. He sprang up, and thrust his elbows backwards, catching the sword Elite in the upper chest, and knocking it to the ground. He followed up with a forward punch, getting the rifle Elite in the chest as well. The attack caught it off guard, but it countered with a punch to the stomach.

James doubled over in pain, and saw the Elites energy sword deactivated at it's side. He grabbed for it, and his hand grasped the handle. He pulled, and thumbed what he hoped was the trigger. The sword flashed to life at the Elite's side.

The Elite yelled out and jumped backwards, releasing the sword to James. James spun and swung behind him, clashing with the other Elite's sword, and kicked out towards the rifle Elite. Once again, it was caught off guard and took the hit low, knocking it into the wall.

Unbeknownst to everyone, James had slowly and unintentionally made his way beside an open escape pod. He clashed swords with the sword Elite once more, then jumped sideways, into the pod. He pounded the flashing button on the inside panel. The doors began to slide shut, and James could hear the Elites roar in anger. The doors then shut, and the pod released from the ship.

James deactivated the sword, as it was cutting into the hull. Getting up, he walked to the controls.

"Now how the hell do I fly this thing?" He asked himself aloud. He sat down in the pilot's chair, and stared at the glowing controls intensely.


	7. Chapter 6: Beginnings of Chaos

CHAPTER 6: Let the Chaos Begin

"NO!" Noka exclaimed as he slammed his fist on the escape pod door. He turned to Ruka and growled, "You made an error, brother. You let the Human take advantage of your secondary weapon. You should have started with the blade... You let the Human escape!"

Noka dove forward and caught his brother with a sharp uppercut punch that hit him in the lower mandibles. Blood and saliva splattered onto Noka's fist.

Ruka yelled in pain. "We can go after him Noka; just use one of the other pods!"

Noka stepped back from his brother, and let him spit out the blood and broken teeth from his mouth. "It is too late for that. We no longer get the glory of this kill, as I am certain that our fleet will destroy his capsule when I inform them of the Human. Collect yourself Ruka, we must get to the launch bay; our squad is waiting."

Ruka glared at his brother as he strode off towards the launch bay. Angry thoughts filled his mind, but he pushed them away. He was _Sangheili_, and Sangheili took punishment without pause when it was deserved, and he most definitely deserved it.

Within minutes, both of them had arrived at the launch bay. In its condition, it was remarkable that it was still even intact. The _Fist of Judgement_ was only a destroyer, meaning that it had large amounts of weaponry, but most of the space on the ship was used either for the weapons, or to supply them. Therefore, it only had one small launch bay.

Inside the bay, was wreckage from the hits the ship took: two Spirit drop ships were crumpled along the wall, and Banshee flier pieces lay strewn about, with only three still intact. There were only three Spirits functioning, and two were being loaded with the ship's limited crew and warriors. The third was clearly reserved for the 'Sword of Vigilance'.

Falo 'Tsarumee, the squad's heavy weapons expert strode towards the brothers.

"The two Spirits are nearly fully loaded with the command crew, and the few other crew members that had survived the attack. What are your orders?"

We launch immediately. This ship will not last much longer, and is drifting slowly towards the Sacred Ring. It needs to be destroyed now, or else it will crash into the ring. I cannot even fathom the punishment we will receive."

"Yes leader, it shall be done." 'Tsarumee then sped off and gave the order to depart.

"If that Human somehow survives and links up with its downed attack ship, then your punishment will be extreme." Noka said quietly to Ruka.

Ruka remained silent, knowing that what his brother said was true. However, he preferred to leave that at the back of his mind for now, and focus on the task at hand.

"I understand, Noka. However we must focus on getting off this ship, and seeing to it's destruction. Leave the incident behind us for the time being."

"Agreed, but I cannot drop this from my mind. When we can link up with another ship, I will order it to scan for the escape pod. If it cannot be found, I can only assume that the Human is alive. Obviously he has enough skill to defeat _you_."

With that, Noka left his brother's side and walked towards the drop ship.

**

After a small amount of confusion upon takeoff, the three Spirits sped away from the doomed _Fist of Judgement_.

"This is 'Sword of Vigilance' squad leader Noka 'Tamamee requesting pick up from destroyer _Fist of Judgement_, and requesting the destroyer be destroyed as it is a threat to the Relic. Is there any ship available to do so?" Noka stood in the cockpit, glaring at the comm panel. A voice cut through the silence with heavy static:

"_This is... and Reconciliation... orders for destruction of... commence immediately. We read the ship to be on collision... Relay pickup location."_

"Get us clear of the ship, or we will get caught in the blast. Move towards the ship closest to the Ring." Noka ordered.

Ingo 'Kul Zikinee, the pilot, but also the squad's expert marksman ran his hand over the Spirit's controls, and it burst forward accordingly. Seconds later, several plasma torpedoes flashed across the view screen, and connected with the _Fist of Judgement_. It seemed to balloon from the inside, plasma washing over and through the severely cratered and gutted ship. Not even three seconds passed before the ship exploded, its plasma reserves igniting and detonating.

The little drop ship was pushed forward from the blast, but stayed clear of the debris. There would be no threat to the Ring from the destroyer; that was certain.

The static shrouded voice came through the comm once more:

"_Target destroyed as... cannot comply with retrieval....too damaged...Inside atmosphere of the Sacr... Suggest alternative option...."_ The voice then cut out for the last time. The words 'cannot comply with retrieval' hung heavily in the air.

"Turn on all available external cameras. See if there are any other ships in the area." Noka commanded.

The view screens all divided into several images; all of which showed empty space, save the one with the view of the Sacred Ring. No ships remained. Noka was about to order the three Spirits to move towards the damaged cruiser, but a thought struck him.

"Do an active scan on the space nearest the ring, look for signatures from any escape pods that may have been launched."

"May I ask why, Commander?" 'Kul Zikinee had already begun the scan, but was still curious. Noka saw no reason to hold back any information from his trusted squadmate.

"The Human with the special armour whom we captured outside the Human installation; he escaped the _Fist of Judgement_ in an escape pod. Ruka and I attempted to stop him, but my brother made an error, which resulted in the Human's escape."

'Kul Zikinee remained wisely silent. He glanced at the view screen, showing the results of the scan. The words flashed, and an image popped on the screen beside them; a single escape pod, powering through the empty space heading towards the ring. "There, Commander. An escape pod!"

Noka looked up, surprised that the scans had actually picked up the pod. New plans quickly formulated in his mind. He activated the comm.

"Spirit drop ships from the _Fist of Judgement_, change course to the damaged cruiser near the Ring. We shall link up with you there at a later time. 'Sword of Vigilance' unlinking from communications." He then spoke to the pilot; "Keep your vectors in line with that escape pod. We cannot lose it. We shall get our glory after all."

**

The massive ring installation loomed before James in the view screen. He had quickly learned the escape pods controls, and was making his way towards the ring. As the pod streamed through space as fast as it could go, James became transfixed on the view screen. Debris from various ships littered the area, and they looked familiar. It took a second before the he recognized the wing of a Longsword fighter spinning past. Not long after that, a half melted Pelican floated by. If these debris were from Human craft, then there must be a Human presence here somewhere. From what he could see, there were no traces of a UNSC ship anywhere, but if there were Longswords dispatched, then there _was_ one here, and if Pelicans were also released, then it must have been used as an insertion to the Ring.

As a darkened UNSC escape pod floated past James' pod, he made his decision. If there were any more Humans in this area, then they would be on the ring. He had no way of knowing _where_ exactly, but maybe once he got there, he could try to link up communications.

He powered the tiny pod even faster towards the closest part of the ring. In his mind he knew that the ring was really his only hope. There would be no chance of him commandeering any Covenant craft while all he had was an unarmed escape pod. The ring promised salvation, hope, and rescue. To James, the ring was now his lifeline. He only hoped that the enemy was not there to greet him when he landed.


End file.
